Is the Taylormade Firesole Driver Still Good? Is it Forgiving for High Handicappers?

Is the Taylormade Firesole Driver Still Good? Is it Forgiving for High Handicappers?

“The Taylormade Firesole is an old-school driver that is still in high demand on the used golf club circuit.”

The Taylormade Firesole driver came out in 1999. When it debuted, it was marketed as a forgiving distance driver.

A lot has changed in the 24 years since this driver was introduced which begs the question, is it still any good?

At a glance, the Taylormade Firesole driver has a unique design. The head shape isn’t like anything that Taylormade is producing these days.

It’s a bit clunky and may garner some looks from fellow golfers at the range. But are the looks hiding a beast? Let’s talk about it.

Is the Taylormade Firesole Driver Still Good?

“The tail-end of this driver is what makes it unique.”

The back of the club head has been crimped. It has a squared off profile in the back which gives it a sharp look at address.

When you are looking at it from the back, it looks more like a blunt rear panel.

I’m not sure what the goal was for this design. Maybe it was to save on weight so they can get the CG low. In any case, the tapered head looks a bit odd from the back.

But from the front, it’s all business. The Taylormade Firesole driver has a massive sweet spot and scoring lines that reach across the entire face.

The Taylormade Firesole driver is also made from titanium. It  gives off a high-pitched metallic “clank” at impact and has a really responsive feel at impact.

The sole is also a bit crimped in the flanks. I suspect that this helps with aerodynamics and to keep weight down.

Only the area behind the sweet spot is left beefy. When testing, I felt a lot of power on the shots that made it to face-center.

The Taylormade Firesole driver also felt fast on my downswing.

Overall, this is still a really solid game improvement driver. It inspires confidence at address and can easily add 10-15 yards to your drive.

Is the Taylormade Firesole Forgiving for High Handicappers?

“The sweet spot of this driver is as broad as the side of a barn.”

As mentioned in the previous section, the scoring lines reach from heel to toe.

You still want to avoid the extreme perimeters of the face as you will experience some head twisting; but I think you’d have to be swinging with your eyes closed to miss this sweet spot.

The Taylormade Firesole is ideal for high handicappers because it does everything this category of golfers needs.

It plays long. It provides a very wide sweet spot. And it plays straight.

The Taylormade Firesole has an oversized head profile so don’t expect to be able to work the ball from the tee with it.

But if you are having trouble keeping your drives out of the semi-rough, this would be a great driver for you.

During my testing, my off-line divergence never exceeded 10 yards. My average distance after a full round of testing (about  two hours at the range) was 259.7 yards.

I cracked 165 yards a handful of times too.

I wasn’t able to get any kind of draw or fade out of it but I wasn’t complaining. In fact I may have been picking up a few yards thanks to the invariably straight flight.

It may not be the prettiest driver on the used golf club market but it is a great choice if you want accuracy, forgiveness and distance.

Taylormade Firesole Vs Taylormade M2 Driver

“The Taylormade M2 driver certainly has a more pleasing sound at impact and it also feels a bit lighter.”

The head also looks very chunky behind the ball. But despite the modern technology and the improved sound, the distance was almost identical.

With the Taylormade M2 driver, I was averaging a carry of 157.5 yards.

The difference in distance is negligible; but the fact that the Taylormade Firesole came out way before the M2 and costs less than half is something of note.